Dream Factory was an unreleased double LP project recorded by Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

 and The Revolution

The Revolution (band)

The Revolution was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1979 by Prince. Although widely associated with rock music, the band's sound incorporated heavy metal, pop, funk, R&B and hard rock elements. Before their official break-up, The Revolution had released one studio album,...

 from 1986.

History

Unlike the three previous Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

 and The Revolution

The Revolution (band)

The Revolution was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1979 by Prince. Although widely associated with rock music, the band's sound incorporated heavy metal, pop, funk, R&B and hard rock elements. Before their official break-up, The Revolution had released one studio album,...

 albums, the entire band was invited to the studio to contribute to a majority of the album's material, with the notable exceptions of "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" and "Starfish & Coffee". By the end of June 1986, Dream Factory had expanded to a 19-track double album that now included solo recordings by Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

, while previously recorded tracks such as "Sexual Suicide", "Big Tall Wall", and "Teacher, Teacher" were removed. After The Revolution was dissolved in October 1986, many of the album's tracks were incorporated into Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

's solo three LP project entitled Crystal Ball

Crystal Ball (unreleased album)

Crystal Ball is an unreleased studio album by Prince recorded throughout 1986. The album was planned to consist of 3 LPs and cover a broad range of musical styles.-Evolution of the album:...

. However, Prince's record distributor at the time, Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

, balked at a three LP release, so the project was reduced to a two LP set and retitled Sign o' the Times.

In March 2009, Vibe Magazine featured the album on its "51 Albums That Never Were," calling it a "coulda-been classic," and even streaming "All My Dreams" for a limited time. Vibe also interviewed former Revolution members Wendy and Lisa on the project.

April 1986 - Demonstration cassette

Side A

1. "Visions" (piano solo by Lisa Coleman
   Lisa Coleman (musician)
   Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...
   
   )
2. "Dream Factory"
3. "It's a Wonderful Day"
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
5. "Big Tall Wall"
6. "And That Says What?"

Side B

1. "Strange Relationship"
2. "Teacher, Teacher"
3. "Starfish and Coffee"
4. "A Place in Heaven"
5. "Sexual Suicide"

June 3, 1986

Side A

1. "Visions"
2. "Dream Factory"
3. "It's a Wonderful Day"
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
5. "It"

Side B

1. "Strange Relationship"
2. "Teacher, Teacher"
3. "Starfish and Coffee"
4. "Interlude"
5. "In a Large Room with No Light"
6. "nevaeH ni ecalP A"
7. "Sexual Suicide"

Side C

1. "Crystal Ball"
2. "Power Fantastic"

Side D

1. "Last Heart"
2. "Witness 4 the Prosecution"
3. "Movie Star"
4. "A Place in Heaven"
5. "All My Dreams"

July 18, 1986 - Final configuration

Side A

1. "Visions"
2. "Dream Factory"
3. "Train"
4. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
5. "It"

Side B

1. "Strange Relationship"
2. "Starfish & Coffee"
3. "Interlude"
4. "Slow Love"
5. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"

Side C

1. "Sign 'O' the Times"
2. "Crystal Ball"
3. "A Place In Heaven"

Side D

1. "The Cross"
2. "Last Heart"
3. "Witness 4 the Prosecution"
4. "Movie Star"
5. "All My Dreams"

Tracks

• On the second configuration, "Movie Star" segues into "A Place in Heaven". Also, "Power Fantastic" contains a 90-second long introductory piece.
• On the final configuration, "A Place in Heaven" is sung by Lisa; whereas the second configuration has it sung by Prince.
• "nevaeH ni ecalP A" is an interlude containing backwards lyrics from "A Place in Heaven" and a skit piece involving an underage Wendy and Lisa trying to get into a club. On the final configuration, it is tacked on the beginning of "Dream Factory".
• "Interlude" is a minute-long guitar solo by Wendy.

Release

• "It," "Starfish and Coffee," "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker," "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," "Sign 'O' the Times," "Strange Relationship," "The Cross," and "Slow Love" were later released on 1987's Sign o' the Times, with "Strange Relationship" being significantly remixed.
• "Visions" was later released as "Minneapolis #1" on the special edition of Wendy & Lisa
  Wendy & Lisa
  Wendy & Lisa are a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band The Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasing their debut album in 1987...
  
  's 1990 album Eroica
  Eroica (album)
  -Track listing:# "Rainbow Lake" – 4:42# "Strung Out" – 4:13# "Mother of Pearl" - 5:11# "Don't Try to Tell Me" - 4:43# "Crack in the Pavement" - 3:25...
  
  .
• "Power Fantastic" was later released (without its 90-second introduction) on 1993's The Hits/The B-Sides
  The Hits/The B-Sides
  -Disc 2 :-Disc 3 :...
  
  .
• "Sexual Suicide," "Last Heart," "Movie Star," "Crystal Ball," and "Dream Factory" were later released on the 1997 compilation Crystal Ball
  Crystal Ball (album set)
  Crystal Ball is the twentieth studio album by Prince . Crystal Ball is a four-disc set containing a three CD set of the same name featuring a much anticipated collection of "previously bootlegged" material, with The Truth, the twenty-first studio album by Prince which is a bonus disc of 12 new...
  
  .
• "In A Large Room With No Light" was later re-recorded in 2009 and given away for free as promotion of Prince's performing of the Montreux Jazz Festival
  Montreux Jazz Festival
  The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
  
  .
• "Train" was later released by Mavis Staples on her 1989 album "Time Waits for No One", released on Prince's Paisley Park label